Examining gOS With Its Ubuntu Origins In Mind 110
An anonymous reader writes "The history of computing is that of giants being toppled. Right now, Ubuntu is the giant of the Linux world but some have been suggesting that gOS' latest release — 3.0 "Gadgets" Beta — might be a serious challenger. Can this be true? The truth is a little more complicated, as the Ubuntu Kung Fu blog explains in its review of the new release."
Re:gOS.... (Score:4, Informative)
gOS 3 Gadgets BETA is based on the solid Linux distribution base of Ubuntu 8.04.1.
and also
Designed for NetBooks & NetTops
Re:Marketing (Score:5, Informative)
ATI hasn't released code for those drivers actually. They've released specs and technical documents on newer, high-end Radeon cards.
When you attack someone and say that they're wrong, next time try to have facts on your side.
That doesn't change the fact that when I tried the distro, they were the only ones that had issues with those drivers.
And despite your claims that Ubuntu is the best community (seriously, check out a real helpful, knowledgable community like Gentoo) that doesn't change the fact that people attacked me for asking for help.
The facts are the facts. Your comments don't change them.
Re:Why I use Ubuntu and not others like Zenwalk (Score:5, Informative)
It's Slack-based. But unlike Slack, it has a package-management system with dependency checking, and uses a modern 2.6 kernel. It still uses the same .tgz package format as Slack, meaning it's essentially a tarball and you can install Slack packages, as well as coming with utilities that let you convert rpm and deb packages to tgz so they can be installed, and installs packages very quickly. I can't fault apt... it is a very good tool for system management. But Zenwalk's netpkg brings all of that functionality to a Slack-based system. Like Ubuntu, Zen has restricted packages for drivers like NVidia and ATi, as well as DVD playback and MP3 encoding (which aren't actually needed most of the time). I have not yet run into a software that I use which isn't in the repo, but unlike Ubuntu, I didn't have to configure *anything* on my laptop. Everything worked out of the box (well, for performance reasons I did choose to install the NVidia binary blob driver: I play games). Even MP3 and DVD playback, and the wireless card (Intel 8945g) worked out of the box without any need to be installed or configured.
That did mean that I had to accept a non-GPL license at install time (if you decline, the non-GPL blobs and software are uninstalled), but the idea is simplicity for end users. It's designed around a one-app per task, zero configuration philosophy, and it achieves that *very* well, choosing apps that are both stable, and lightweight, and coming with driver functionality out of the box that you simply don't see on any other distro. And it's got software out of the box for everything the average user does with their computer. Finally, it's a smaller ISO, so a faster download, as well as being faster to run in general.
Bottom line: It's better for desktop linux than Ubuntu. :)
Re:Serious challenger? (Score:4, Informative)
The difference is in the compilation options. Just because it's the same software doesn't mean it's the same build, and anybody who's compared performance/benchmarks under Gentoo as opposed to Ubuntu can tell you what a huge difference it can make.
Gentoo can be faster than Zenwalk (though in some benchmarks isn't), but Zenwalk is much easier to install and maintain, and they're both *hugely* faster than Ubuntu.
Re:Marketing (Score:2, Informative)
You'll notice he's modded up to +5 too. Slashdot "moderators" don't read the entire thread, and these posts are too big for them to read past the first paragraph. He's openly admitted that he's talking about Ubuntu fron two years ago and yet he insists that he knows what he's talking about.
What a dick.
Re:Marketing (Score:2, Informative)
Why can't you use <quote>? When you did your Google search for Shuttleworth comments did you happen to get the date of the comment? People change their opinions over time you know.. Actually install a the latest version of Ubuntu on a machine with a 3d graphics card.. watch as it automatically installs the restricted drivers.
Re:Marketing (Score:2, Informative)
You are not the target market for Ubuntu,
Funny, that is exactly what I said. I didn't blast Ubuntu. I didn't say Ubuntu was wrong. I was asked what I didn't like about Ubuntu, which is a matter of opinion, and then QuantumG busts out personal attacks, calling me a liar and such.
Repeatedly I said there is a market for Ubuntu, and I'm not it.
I can't help it if he can't read.